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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fall — to drop
  3. staff — employees
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — shares
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. staff — employees
  11. pop — music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stock — goods
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bank — of a river
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com